Project details

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CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Objective

Reduction of noise and pollution are two items more and more critical to achieve, especially in urban areas, because of traffic jam and transient engine operating conditions. Electric vehicles, which appear to be the most promising approach to clear both noise and pollutant emission (Zero Emission Vehicles = ZEV) show, as major obstacle to their diffusion, a limited range. This issue may reduce the market interest in the electric vehicle and the consequent positive environmental impact. To overcome these problems, the electric system could be integrated with a small, lightweight Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), consisting of an electric generator with related power electronics driven by an internal combustion engine (ICE), working in the optimum conditions to bring the emissions to the lowest level.

The main industrial objectives are to develop an Auxiliary Power Unit, characterised by:

- extremely low emission (less than one half of the expected ECE phase III limits), - very low weight (40 . 60 kg), - low cost, according to the automotive standards, (# 1000 ECU). A demonstrator, consisting of an electric vehicle, integrated with an APU, able to guarantee full performance in extended range city missions and a return lo home in any case, is developed in this project. The vehicle will allow the following operating conditions:

- firstly, the use in pure electric, a full performance, as in a normal electric vehicle; - secondly, the use with APU working as "range extender", at full vehicle performance with still power contribution of the battery; - finally, in the case of fully discharged batteries, the use with APU working as a "limp home" mode, even with derated conditions. The Consortium comprises two major European car manufacturers, Fiat and Renault, Lombardini as ICE supplier, Auxilec and Siemens as generator designer and manufacturer, BM as ICE designer and University of Sheffield.